Tag: competition

AIAA Announces 2022 Design/Build/Fly (DBF) Winners

April 24, 2022 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) today announced the winners of the 26th annual AIAA/Textron Aviation/Raytheon Technologies Design/Build/Fly (DBF) Competition:

  • First Place ($3,000): Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Ga.
  • Second Place ($2,000): Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Fla.
  • Third Place ($1,500): FH Joanneum University of Applied Sciences, Austria
  • Best Report Score ($100): FH Joanneum University of Applied Sciences, Austria

The 2022 competition returned to an in-person format hosted by Textron Aviation in Wichita, Kan. More than 700 talented engineering students made up 69 university teams (60 teams from the United States, nine international teams) who spent the weekend testing their radio-controlled aircraft.

This year’s DBF objective was to design, build, and test an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to deliver and drop vaccine components. Missions included deployment of the aircraft, staging of vaccination syringes, and delivery of environmentally sensitive vaccine vial packages. More details about the mission requirements can be found on the DBF website at aiaa.org/dbf. Follow DBF on Facebook at @Aiaadbf.

“Design/Build/Fly is a highlight of the year,” said Dan Dumbacher, AIAA executive director. “Aerospace trains us to adapt to the unexpected. It’s a good lesson for students as they enter this vibrant and meaningful field. Congratulations to the winning teams!”

Russ Althof, director of the DBF organizing committee, said, “We owe our thanks for the success of the DBF competition to the efforts of many volunteers from Textron Aviation, Raytheon Technologies, and the AIAA sponsoring technical committees: Applied Aerodynamics, Aircraft Design, Flight Test, and Design Engineering. These volunteers collectively set the rules for the contest, publicize the event, gather entries, judge the written reports, and judge the fly-off in Wichita.”

The 2023 DBF Competition will be held in April 2023 and hosted by Raytheon Technologies in Tucson, Ariz.

Media Contact: Rebecca B. Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270 cell

About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit aiaa.org, or follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.

Weekend Competition Will Test University Students’ Aircraft Designs to Deliver Vaccine Components

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

More Than 700 Students Gather for Annual Design/Build/Fly Competition

April 18, 2022 – – Reston, Va. – – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is returning to Wichita with its annual Design/Build/Fly (DBF) contest, April 22-24. The weekend event is hosted by Textron Aviation. More than 700 talented engineering students from universities in 13 countries, including the University of Kansas, will gather to test the radio-controlled aircraft they designed and built to deliver and drop vaccine components. Credentialed members of the media are invited to witness the flyoffs and awards presentation.

WHEN:
Friday, April 22
9:30 a.m. – 6 p.m. Flight line open for university teams

Saturday, April 23
9:30 a.m. – 6 p.m. Flight line open for university teams

Sunday, April 24
8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. Flight line open for university teams
5:30 p.m. Awards presentation

WHERE:
Textron Aviation Employees’ Flying Club
10335 E. Central Avenue
Wichita, KS, 67206

Visitors will be allowed at the competition site, but not elsewhere on campus without prior coordination and an employee accompanying them.

WHAT:

  • Daily flights of radio-controlled aircraft by university teams
  • Missions will include deployment of the aircraft, staging of vaccination syringes, and delivery of environmentally sensitive vaccine vial packages.
  • The objective is to design, fabricate, and demonstrate the flight capabilities of an uncrewed, electric-powered, radio-controlled aircraft that can best meet the specified mission profile.
  • The goal is a balanced design possessing good flight handling qualities and practical and affordable manufacturing requirements while providing a high vehicle performance.

HEALTH and SAFETY:
COVID protocols will apply for entering the facility and all indoor spaces, including wearing masks. AIAA will be implementing its major event health and safety protocols for DBF. Journalists must follow all instructions for uploading proof of COVID-19 vaccination or negative test results. Refer to https://aiaa.org/dbf/health-and-safety for more information.

CONTACT:
To attend in person, contact:

Amanda Jennings
AIAA Social Media Specialist
470-214-7464
[email protected]

Kate Flavin
Textron Aviation Communications Specialist
316-252-7780
[email protected]

SOCIAL MEDIA: Follow the competition on AIAA Twitter and Instagram. Use the hashtag: #AIAADBF

About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit aiaa.org, and follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

About DBF
The Design/Build/Fly (DBF) competition (aiaa.org/dbf) is celebrating its 26th year. Started in 1996 by the AIAA Applied Aerodynamics, Aircraft Design and Flight Test Technical Committees, DBF is an opportunity for university students to apply real-world aircraft design experience by giving them the opportunity to validate their analytic studies.

Student teams design, fabricate, and demonstrate the flight capabilities of an uncrewed, electric-powered, radio-controlled aircraft that can best meet the specified mission profile. The goal is a balanced design possessing good demonstrated flight handling qualities and practical and affordable manufacturing requirements while providing a high vehicle performance.

To encourage innovation and maintain a fresh design challenge for each new year’s participants, the design requirements and performance objective are updated for each new contest year. The changes provide new design requirements and opportunities, while allowing for application of technology developed by the teams from prior years.

2022 DBF Sponsors: Textron Aviation, Raytheon Technologies, AIAA Foundation, AeroVironment, General Atomics Aeronautical, MathWorks, Spirit Aerosystems.

AIAA Announces Design/Build/Fly (DBF) Winners

Competition Champions 25 Years of Aircraft Innovation and Design

May 18, 2021 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) today announced the winners of the 25th annual AIAA/Textron Aviation/Raytheon Missiles & Defense Design/ Build/Fly (DBF) Competition.

The 2020–2021 Design/Build/Fly winners are:

  • First Place ($3,000): Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering, Bengaluru, India
  • Second Place ($2,000): University of Central Florida
  • Third Place ($1,500): Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach
  • Best Report Score ($100): University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

The contest provides a real-world aircraft design experience for undergraduate and graduate engineering students by giving them the opportunity to validate their analytic studies. The competition is divided into two sections—a proposal and a formal design report. This year teams were also encouraged to submit a video presentation showcasing their aircraft in flight.

This university program invites teams of students to design, fabricate, and demonstrate the flight capabilities of an unmanned, electric-powered, radio-controlled aircraft that can best meet the specified mission profile. The goal is a balanced design that demonstrates flight handling qualities and practical and affordable manufacturing requirements while providing a high vehicle performance.

“Design/Build/Fly is a highlight of the year,” said Dan Dumbacher, AIAA executive director. “Aerospace trains us to adapt to the unexpected. It’s a good lesson for students as they enter this vibrant and meaningful field. Congratulations to the winning teams!”

This year’s teams were treated to a message from Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback and DBF alumnus, Joshua Dobbs. Dobbs is a 2017 graduate of Tickle College of Engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where he majored in aerospace engineering with a minor in business administration.

During the awards ceremony, Dobbs shared, “Engineering can be hard, especially in this discipline. We are working to change human transportation on Earth and in space. Seems pretty simple, right? In those moments when the problems seem insolvable and overwhelming, remember why you became passionate about the field. Along any journey to reach your goals you will face adversity. Your attitude will define how you overcome it.”

This year’s DBF objective was to design, build, and test an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with a towed sensor. Missions included delivery of the UAV, transportation of sensors in shipping containers, and surveillance by deploying, operating, and recovering a towed sensor. More details about the mission requirements can be found on the DBF website at aiaa.org/dbf. Follow DBF on Facebook at @Aiaadbf.

“We are impressed with the resilience these teams have demonstrated by continuing their participation during the pandemic. I have enjoyed the video submissions by the teams flying their aircraft – we are inspired by their enthusiasm, talent, and creativity, which are hallmark to this event,” Dumbacher concluded.

The DBF organizing committee accepted 115 proposals for the 2020–2021 competition. Of those, 92 teams submitted design reports and 68 teams submitted a video presentation. The formal reports are scored for design, as well as manufacturing and testing plans.

Russ Althof, director of the DBF organizing committee, said, “We owe our thanks for the success of the DBF competition to the efforts of many volunteers from Textron Aviation, Raytheon Missiles & Defense, and the AIAA sponsoring technical committees: Applied Aerodynamics, Aircraft Design, Flight Test, and Design Engineering. These volunteers collectively set the rules for the contest, publicize the event, gather entries, judge the written reports, and this year, judge the videos instead of the fly-off.”

AIAA Media Contact: Rebecca B. Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270.

About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit aiaa.org, or follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.